That time Hill Farmstead was on tap in Albany

In a whirlwind announcement that caught everyone by surprise, a few kegs of both Hill Farmstead Everett and Arthur escaped from Vermont on a goodwill trip to the Capital Region this week. While this isn’t the first or last time these beers will see life on draft outside of the Green Mountain State, it certainly signifies something of a victory for our little beer scene here in Upstate New York. Previously, these beers were a luxury that only New York City folks could find at Alewife or The Pony Bar in extremely limited quantities (and for an extremely limited amount of time.) Now, that landscape of potential includes us. That’s pretty cool.

But, let me start with the basics: Hill Farmstead, if you didn’t know, produces some of the most coveted and carefully crafted beers in the country. Shaun Hill, head brewer and apparent transcendental idealist, has fashioned a sense of wonder and awe around his products, which carry the names of his forebears as well as some pretty hefty chunks of Hegelian dialectic. Hill Farmstead randomly materializing in our neck of the woods is akin to Banksy’s street art appearing along Lark Street. There is no real precedent, so people will absolutely take notice. It’s a form of validation we all secretly want. There was a collective moment of celebration and excitement among those in the know; there were the requisite congratulations for the hard work that must have gone into arranging such a momentous delivery. Overall, the enthusiasm level was pretty awesome. We all deserve nice things from time to time.

I suppose there’s a bit more to this story than is immediately apparent, however. There might be more calculation at hand than sheer dumb luck. Hill Farmstead’s announcement earlier in the week that they will now be accepting credit cards at the brewery reveals that this is a business on the rise, seeking to capitalize on new opportunities and keep up with the ever-growing and expanding craft beer industry. The new class of beer drinkers pledge no allegiance and swear very limited loyalty to either brand or style, all the while possessing a remarkably limited attention span. The hordes come from all over in search of that one illustrious beer, they find it, they check in on Untappd, and they move on. It’s becoming necessary for breweries, even those with established reputations of excellence, to seek to broaden their appeal. Education is an integral component of this evolution, but willingness on the part of the brewery to open their doors just a little bit wider is equally necessary. While a business owner has every right to apply his or her philosophy to the crafting and distribution of a product, and staying local is a cause I certainly understand, staying competitive requires a keen understanding of market trends. So why not send the beer to the people, wherever they should thirst? And why not start with a beer market as average as Albany? Sure, Shaun Hill has sworn off such growth on reddit and to every beer publication that will listen, but the key events of this week signify a tack, if ever so slight, in a more progressive direction. And, truth be told, I sure wouldn’t mind seeing more of his beer at the bars I frequent.

It would seem that, for the first round, the Capital Region is a beneficiary of the changing tide. When the news came that Hill Farmstead would be in the area for the first (and probably not the last) time, word spread quickly throughout the region. Less than 24 hours after the initial announcement, the kegs of Everett and Arthur were tapped at The Ruck and Madison Pour House, respectively. The Henry Street Taproom also got in on the action. Ditto for The Bier Abbey. Word traveled efficiently on a Facebook page that was recently created by Remarkable Liquid’s craft beer rock star Jeremy Irving, on which he has encouraged the diffusion of beer knowledge amongst stakeholders in the region. Within two hours, the first round of kegs were finished, a true testament to the number of knowledgeable and enthusiastic beer drinkers we have in our midst. It’s a moment to be proud of, and one that perfectly encapsulates the current status of an industry in motion.

Did I sit and have a glass? Absolutely. And I sincerely thank all of the folks who work hard day in and day out to bring the sheer number of exciting beers to the area as we are currently enjoying. I’m hearing whispers already about the next beers we can expect to make an appearance around town. These are indeed exciting times. We have made many steps in the right direction, and we are poised to make many more. Prost!